Strange Magic
by forensicfreak14
Summary: 7th book spoiler. Sydney Lupin enters her first year at Hogwarts, befriend by some who think her secret is cool. As she progresses through school, she finds that she's fallen for her best friend, but how does he see her and her condition?


~Just a few short words from me. I started this story back in the summer of 2007 after spending 19 hours straight reading the 7th Harry Potter book. The only reason it has taken me two years to do anything with this comes down to the simple fact that I had no idea where the notebook went that I had started this in. After cleaning out some drawers at home last fall, I happened to find it and decided to pick up where I left off. So, here I go.

And fair warning. Spoilers for the 7th Harry Potter book if you haven't read it yet.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Smooth**

It's not often you can be known as the "abandoned daughter" or "forgotten child." Most people don't let others know. Who would want to let anyone know that they were forgotten?

Sydney wasn't really sure what the case was for her. It's not that she was forgotten, nor was she abandoned. As she saw it, her case was much worse:

Sydney's parents were murdered in the last fight against the evil dark wizard, Lord Voldemort.

She and her twin brother, Ted, had been born only weeks before the final battle, the one that took place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Eleven years ago, their parents fought to protect the famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, to help insure that their children would have a safe world to live in. Sadly, their mother was killed by her own cousin, the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, while her husband met his fate at the hands of another Death Eater, Antonin Dolohov.

Sydney's mother, Nymphadora Tonks, had kept her a secret from her father, Remus Lupin. She was afraid of how he would react to Sydney's appearance.

Like Ted, Sydney could change how she looked, gifted with the same ability as their mother. Some things, however, did not always disappear.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf. His greatest fear was that he would pass his condition along to any children he might have.

When Sydney was born, Remus was away telling the Order about his newest addition, Ted. He didn't know he had a daughter, especially not one who was half werewolf.

Sydney was what others, even in the magical world, would call weird. She had the ears of a wolf as well as the heightened senses. Her tail didn't help her much either. The young girl discovered at an early age that she could hide her tail and wolfish ears at will, except on the day of the full moon.

Her transformations were random; she never knew when she would become a full werewolf or when nothing out of the ordinary would occur. However, when she did transform under the light of the full moon, she had always found herself still thinking and acting the same as she did during the day. Somehow Sydney kept her human mind, allowing her to stay around her family and not become an outcast.

This was why Tonks kept her daughter a secret.

After the murder of their parents, Sydney and Ted lived with their grandmother, though they spent most of their time with their godfather, the one and only Harry Potter.

Eleven years after the last battle of good and pure evil, the twins were ready to see Hogwarts for themselves. The Lupin twins stared at the large, scarlet train, the magnificent Hogwarts Express.

Sydney was already wearing her uniform, using the robes to cover her tail. Her sleek, long hair was dark blue scattered with lighter blue highlights, a personal favorite, and styled so as to try and hide her ears. Her grandmother thought it best for her classmates to see her true form before the full moon, hoping to convince them that she just liked being able to change her appearance. Ted was in his uniform too, his unruly bright turquoise hair drawing plenty of stares. He and his sister were very close and he did the best he could to keep the attention off of her.

"Make sure you work hard and listen to your professors. And please let me know which house you're both in!" their grandmother shouted as they boarded the train.

Finding an empty room, the twins settled in before peeking out the window for one last look. Harry was waving at them.

"At least wait a few days before causing any trouble!" Harry shouted, earning him a good elbow from Ginny.

"We'll be good, we promise!" Ted shouted as the Hogwarts Express began to pull away.

Ted and Sydney watched Platform 9 ¾ fade away into the distance as the train picked up speed. Once the station had disappeared from view, excitement and nerves finally hit.

"I can't believe that we're really on our way to Hogwarts," Ted said to his sister.

"I know. It just seems like a fantastic dream," Sydney replied. "I really hope we're in Gryffindor like dad was. Or Hufflepuff like mum."

"Me too. I'd leave if I was a dirty Slytherin," Ted added.

Just then, the door slid open and two students poked their heads in.

"Alright if we join you? We can't find any more rooms," asked a dark haired girl.

"Of course. We've plenty of room here," Sydney said, adjusting her robes slightly t conceal her tail.

The dark haired girl walked in with a skinny, mousy haired boy who was tall for his age. The girl took a seat next to Sydney, the boy next to Ted.

"My name's Aiden," The girl said, looking at Sydney and Ted. "I'm a first year."

"I'm Andrew," the blonde boy said. "I'm also a first year and new to the country."

"Really? Where are you from?" Ted asked.

"Russia," Andrew replied. "I got the letter and was surprised. But my parents were excited. So I…Hey, are those wolf ears?"

Sydney couldn't think of anything to say. She knew it was just a matter of time before someone noticed.

"I…um…not really…yes, they are," Sydney said, embarrassed as she fixed her hair to cover her ears completely.

"That's brilliant! How can you do that?" Aiden asked excitedly.

"Promise you can keep a secret?" Sydney asked the two newcomers.

"I can. Take it to my grave if I have to," Aiden replied, Andrew nodding in agreement.

"I was born like this," Sydney said. "I'm half werewolf."

"So does this mean that at a full moon you –"

"– she does not change into a monster if that's what you're asking," Ted cut in, gaining a look from Aiden.

Ted's hair had gone from his usual bright turquoise to a fiery mix of red, orange, and yellow. Andrew and Aiden had noticed.

"Please excuse my brother. My name is Sydney. Ted is my twin. He doesn't like when people ask about me and what I am. I'm used to it by now and I know it won't stop in school. Ted's just protective of me," Sydney said, her calm composure cooling down her brother's temper.

"Sorry if I offended you. I'm just naturally curious," Aiden said, now feeling embarrassed.

"No, it's ok. Better to ask than for crazy rumors to be spread. And so you know, I have a tail too," Sydney replied. "I really try to hide it all when I can. I don't like to draw attention to myself."

"A tail? Seriously? You just get cooler every second," Andrew said, amazed at how Sydney wasn't too bothered by her own appearance.

"So what house are the two of you hoping to get into?" Ted asked, again trying to draw attention away from his sister.

"I'm hoping to get into Gryffindor. It's a family tradition," Aiden replied.

"I'm not really sure, but from what I've read about the school, I think I would also do well in Gryffindor, or even Ravenclaw. Slytherin just doesn't seem right for me," Andrew said.

"We also hope to be in Gryffindor, just like our dad was, or even Hufflepuff like our mum," Ted said.

Before Sydney could add anything, the door slid open and another boy walked in. Sydney didn't realize she was staring.

The boy was fairly tall for his age, with short brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a noticeably athletic build. His smile alone was enough to make Sydney blush.

"Mind if I come in?" the boy asked.

"Sure, come on and join us," Aiden replied as the boy sat down across from Sydney.

"Thanks. My name is Darren Wood. I'm a second year in Gryffindor," the boy said, smiling at the group.

Sydney felt her face go red as her hair gained a pink tint. No one really seemed to notice.

Introductions went around the group until they reached Sydney. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.

"That's Sydney. She's my twin sister," Ted said, trying not to laugh at his sister's lack of words.

Sydney's hair was a full shade of pink now, though she wasn't aware of it. Aiden smirked at her new friend.

"So you're all first years?" Darren asked.

"Yeah. We're all hoping to be in Gryffindor, for one reason or another," Andrew replied, the rest of the group nodding in agreement.

Sydney's face started to return to its normal color, he hair also returning to its normal dark blue. This time the change attracted Darren's attention.

"Wow, how did you do that? Your hair just changed colors," Darren said, looking at Sydney again.

Again her hair went pink, as did her face. She couldn't hide it this time.

"I…we…my brother and I were born like this. Our mum was able to change her appearance when she wanted and it got passed on to us," Sydney said, her hair still very pink.

"I guess that's one way of always having the color hair you want," Darren said with a laugh, smiling at Sydney.

"I um…yeah," Sydney stuttered, quickly changing her hair back to dark blue.

Ted's face was starting to turn red with the effort of not laughing at his sister and her speechlessness. Aiden also seemed to be containing her laughter while Andrew didn't seem to notice, or at least kept it to himself better than the other two. Sydney tried to redeem herself.

"Wood? Are you related to Oliver Wood of Puddlemere United by any chance?" Sydney asked Darren.

The young Gryffindor beamed at her.

"That's my dad, best Keeper for Puddlemere United. Got picked up right out of Hogwarts! My mum, Katie Wood, plays Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies too. Runs in my family, so it only makes sense that I'm trying out for the Gryffindor House team this year," Darren replied, quite proud of his parents.

"What position do you play?" Andrew asked. "I want to try for Chaser, but I know first years never make the team, so that gives me a year to prepare."

"I can make a mean Chaser, but I take after my dad and really like playing Keeper. I've trained really hard for it over the summer," Darren replied. "What about the rest of you?"

Ted couldn't help but brag about how he and Sydney also had well know school Quidditch players in their family, even if they weren't completely related by birth. As expected, he told the group about how their Uncle Harry was the youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in a century and that Uncle George and their late Uncle Fred were the best Beater pair the school had ever seen.

All attention in the small room was aimed at Sydney and Ted at the mention of the name 'Harry Potter.' Darren was the one to speak first.

"THE Harry Potter is your uncle? My mum and dad always told me how incredible he was to play Quidditch with. They said he was the best Seeker ever and was just as great a friend. I bet he taught you everything you know about Quidditch," Darren said, looking at Sydney.

"Well, he did teach me everything I know about being a Seeker," Sydney muttered, looking at her feet.

The five students continued to talk excitedly about Quidditch, each declaring their love for a particular team. Throughout their ride to Hogsmeade Station, Sydney could still hardly make eye contact with Darren for more than a few seconds. Every time she did, the young witch could feel her cheeks getting red.

She'd never had a crush on someone before; she had never really seen many kids outside of her own family. She just didn't understand though how she could become more shy than she already was just by this first glance at this boy.

Sydney snapped out of her own thoughts as the train gradually began to slow, indicating that they were nearly at the station. The four younger students finally started to feel nerves and excitement churning in their stomachs, as well as the desire for a nice meal after the long train ride.

As the train finally ground to a halt, Sydney and Ted got to their feet, immediately followed by their three new friends. Once they had left the train, the great booming voice of Hagrid could be heard over all the commotion, summoning the first years to him. Sydney turned to look at their small group and saw Darren waving at them.

"Have fun crossing the lake. I hope to see you again soon. I could use some more Quidditch-obsessed Gryffindors to talk to," he called out, smirking at the group as he made his way toward the horseless carriages.

She knew he hadn't been speaking directly to her, but for some reason she felt that he had been. Sydney turned back around when she felt someone tug at her arm.

"Come on Syd. You'll have plenty of time to daydream about that boy later," Ted said, pulling his sister along with the rest of the first years.

"I wasn't…"

Sydney didn't bother to finish. Her brother knew her better than anyone, except maybe their grandmother Andromeda.

As Hagrid helped the first years into their small boats, Sydney couldn't help but smile to herself. Sure she was different from everyone at school, but that's what made her who she was.

She just hoped the boy she'd set her eyes on would look past her condition and see her for the girl she really was.


End file.
